The aim of the course is to provide a way of entrance to Kant’s system of Critiques, which is highly influential and significant for the history of philosophy. We will explore the reception of Kantian philosophy by conducting a study on the readings of Deleuze’s and Heidegger’s Kant Books. In reading their works, our main body of reference will be the Critique of Pure Reason.

The central theme of the course will be Kant’s criticism of metaphysics which finds its formulation in “transcendental idealism”.  This theme extends to the question of the ends, the limits and the vocation of human reason. We will approach this theme first by reading Deleuze’s book on Kant which, I believe, is one of the best introductions to Kantian philosophy. This will provide us an extensive introduction and an overview of Kant’s critical project. After this introduction to the Kantian system, we shall study Heidegger’s Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics. In parallel, we will also read the relevant chapters from Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Through this comparative reading, we will also explore the ways in which Heidegger interprets the Kantian problem of metaphysics as leading to his fundamental ontology.

In their research and in their final paper, students can focus one of the texts (or philosophers) or all in comparison with each other. In our lectures, I shall conduct a comparative reading of Kant’s text and Heidegger’s assessment of it.

All graduate students are welcome, but if you have a background in Kant and/or Heidegger’s philosophy, it will be better. For students who are interested in the post-Kantian continental philosophy and Heidegger’s philosophy, this course may also serve as a source and provide a background.